What a wonderful day in the neighborhood!

BY LISA A., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

It was a beautiful spring Saturday in April and I could have been out working hard selling the paper. But my neighbor and customer had just given me a beautiful bike. It was a little small for me and I wasn’t sure if I could use it except that it has a girls frame and I need that for my back right now. So I took both my bikes to the bike fest and had the blue one fixed up for me for free. I gave my other bike, a men’s bike that fit me better, but wasn’t working for me, to the representatives of the Oasis Center. They work with kids, teaching them to fix and sell bikes. They are also a safe house for underage kids.

Patagonia was there handing out free stickers, decals and decorations for helmets and bikes. I got some handlebar streamers made out of old bike tires, and some shiny things! I chose lightning bolts for my helmet.

I won the lime green drink holder in the (free!) raffle, plus some venison snacks from Patagonia. What a wonderful day in the neighborhood!

B Cycle was there and explained that they are offering accessible bike riding in the greater downtown area. That means you don’t have to have a phone that can read a QR code or a credit card. You can use a debit card. Go to www.visitmusic city.com/local-business/nashville-bcycle to register and prepay for a monthly pass. They are aiming to make bicycle rentals more accessible to more people downtown. That is good news for us Contributors ! The bikes are electric assist, topping out at 17 mph. The electric only works when you pedal, folks, so it is not a tiny moped! But that makes it much easier to get up and down the hills. There were lots of other electric bikes, a place to ride around and try them out, and lots of families having fun. Of course, Walk/ Bike Nashville was recruiting people to come and make Nashville a more walkable, bike-able city. Overall, I came away feeling good that I gave away a bicycle, and then came home with a great one, all for free!

joy, and determination — even 39-year-old Joey Votto. As of this writing, the Red’s are in first place in the NL Central Division.

And what was the spark that lit the fire under the 2023 Cincinnati Reds? On June 6th of this year, the team brought up Dominican-born Elly De La Cruz from the minor leagues. Since joining the team, De La Cruz has excelled in almost every aspect of the game. The 6’5”, switch-hitting infielder is currently hitting an impressive .333. He’s stolen seven bases and last week he hit for the cycle-that’s a single, double, triple and home run in the same game. At just 21, he is the youngest rookie to do that since 1975.

At the end of Votto’s post he wrote, “SIDE NOTE: The aliens ask if I would like to accompany them on their ship back to their planet. I oblige. Never to be seen again.”

Professional athletes don’t play for a lifetime. At 39, maybe Joey Votto is looking to retire from the game he’s played so well for so long. Let’s hope Elly De La Cruz has as long and successful career as Votto. That would go a long way toward numbing the pain of my friend’s new bionic knee.

The Lilies of the Field By Lisa A. #5843

Why worry about how we will survive? Like the lilies of the field or the swallows in the sky, even without family- we have each other.